


I ought to be thy Adam...

by attic_gremlin



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Frankenstein AU, Gen, Inspired by Frankenstein, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), LinkedUniverse, Yeah it gets weird, and sad, no beta we die like Wild: reckless and stupid but too excited to care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24350362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attic_gremlin/pseuds/attic_gremlin
Summary: “Will you tell me the reason for your hatred towards me?”Link choked. How had he hidden his knowledge so well? It had seemed to Link that the Traveler was ignorant of his repulsion. His persistence despite it had frustrated Link to no end.“I owe you no explanation,” Link replied sharply. “The business of my feelings is my own.”“I feel as though I share a stake in such business,” The Traveler argued back. “Seeing as we are companions on a dangerous mission. A rift between two of our members may have consequences yet unseen.”“You really wish to know? Then I shall tell you,”______________An LU Frankenstein AU, mainly borrowing themes and dynamics from the novel. For the purposes of this fic Legend plays the part of Victor, with Hyrule as his Creation (aka Adam)
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	I ought to be thy Adam...

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun trying to emulate the style of Frankenstein, and identifying what words, patterns, and cadences make it sound the way it does. I'm probably the only one who finds that fun but I don't care, it was a blast!
> 
> Thanks to Melonya from the LU server for inspiring this idea! (Link in end notes)
> 
> (TW for... uh "Metaphorical self-harm" is the best way I can think of to describe it. Nothing to graphic but some potentially triggering words; if you've read Frankenstein you'll probably be fine)

Link-- or, as his current companions had dubbed him, the Veteran-- prided himself on his accomplishments. He had succeeded in his every endeavor since childhood, as a result of an uncle who did nothing but encourage and teach until the moment of his death. Even in his failures, Link found victory in his own survival. He had saved lands far reaching, and rescued souls uncounted. His greatest comfort was his legacy; the promise that he would be remembered for his deeds long after his earthly life expired.

This comfort sustained him on his journeys, and allowed him to draw strength when it seemed he had none. For this reason, his legacy was a great asset to him. It was also for this reason that he so greatly suffered when it was ripped from him.

The group of heros spoke of a timeline. A series of events that could contain every adventure they had endured; from the Airhead's expedition into the unknown surface world to the Wild one's hundred year slumber, each and every one of them fit within the series. Link, of course, came after the Old Man, but the boy who came after Link was a surprise to all present.

The Traveler.

Link felt sick. 

The Traveler? This starved-skinny boy with too many stories hidden behind his eyes, who spoke of drought and famine as casually as he did a passing cloud? Whose decimated world they had all seen only a few weeks prior? How could  _ he _ be Link’s successor? Link had saved his home. How could it have all gone so bad so fast? 

He couldn’t have caused the Traveler’s suffering… could he? Had his own failures led to the barren wasteland that the Traveler called home? Could the goddesses truly be so cruel?

He gazed upon the Traveler's shocked features. His face had taken on a glow of adoration as he looked to his predecessor. Link's heart clenched. 

This child was the result of Link's greatest failure. His legacy was in tatters in front of him, in the wretched shape of a starved, sickly refugee.

_ No! _ Link thought frantically, his mind racing for another answer.

_ There must be some other cause,  _ he pleaded to the goddesses.  _ Everything I have ever accomplished cannot truly be for naught. My failures cannot have led to… This! I cannot have damned my homeland! _

To have his work undone was one thing-- some malevolent force could do that to anyone-- but to have it have meant nothing in the first place? To have it simply disappear? It was unthinkable.

He grasped for another solution. Things in his own land were improving, and nature's blessings strengthened with each passing day; perhaps something had happened between his own time and his successor's to plunge the land into such misery. It didn’t seem as though there were any heros between the two of them in the timeline, so it couldn’t have been a return of Ganon; a new hero would’ve been born for that, as Link and the Traveler both were. 

Wait.

The Traveler was born to fight Ganon, as Link was. But he never seemed to take it as seriously as Link did, always wanting to wander off and explore. Wanting to wander off… while Ganon’s forces raged across his land, burning crops and looting villages. He always spoke so casually of the dilapidated state of his homeland, as if he couldn’t be brought to care about the fact that the growing community Link had nurtured had been destroyed by neglect-- The Traveler’s neglect. 

_ That must be the explanation _ , Link concluded frantically, his thoughts racing and his mind reeling. The Traveler must have allowed Ganon to ravage his,  _ Link’s _ , homeland until there was nothing left but a smouldering wasteland, and the Traveler had been too busy mapping useless, empty cave systems and picking up shiny rocks to do anything to stop it. Link felt something bubble and churn in his stomach. 

He gripped it tight and called it rage, for he could not bear to face his guilt.

**_________________________ **

The Traveler seemed to take his relation to Link as a reason to grow closer, but Link could not bear to face him. He spurned his successor’s weak attempts at conversation, and feigned an affliction of the head or stomach should he persist. The boy seemed to take Link’s rejections in stride; or perhaps he did not see them for what they were, for he remained persistent as ever. Despite Link’s resentment, the two of them were inseparable-- literally, for they were trapped on the same mission. Their most intimate moments were after battles, when Link allowed the Traveler to heal his injuries, but spared him no more than a simple, muttered, thanks. 

His resentment grew with each passing day that the Traveler refused to face the truth of his own world. 

In time, the mysterious portals delivered the group to an icy expanse which the wild one soon identified as Mt. Lanayru. As they trekked across the glimmering fields, the heroes spoke amongst themselves. Link trudged near the rear of the group-- it was an easy hike, but he had always detested snow. Soon he was several paces behind his travelling companions, and he took a moment to appreciate the quiet, still air. When he opened his eyes and resumed his movement, he suppressed a groan when he sighted the Traveler’s worried eyes glancing backwards over his shoulder. The Traveler gave some excuse to the Smithy, who he had been conversing with, and stopped walking, leaving Link no choice but to meet him where he stood.

When Link reached him, the Traveler matched his pace and walked in silence for many minutes. Link sensed a tension building between them until finally, the Traveler spoke. 

“Will you tell me the reason for your hatred towards me?”

Link choked. How had he hidden his knowledge so well? It had seemed to Link that the Traveler was ignorant of his repulsion. His persistence despite it had frustrated Link to no end. 

“I owe you no explanation,” Link replied sharply. “The business of my feelings is my own.”

The Traveler’s face twisted with confusion. Link looked away.

“I feel as though I share a stake in such business,” The Traveler argued back. “Seeing as we are companions on a dangerous mission. A rift between two of our members may have consequences yet unseen.”

“You really wish to know? Then I shall tell you,” Link spoke in harsh tones, as a captain speaks to an insubordinate soldier. “Your time comes directly after mine. In my home, the land is recovering-- but your world lies in ashes, scorched by evil. What am I to think has happened between my time and yours? It cannot be that my work has failed, the goddesses would not allow it. Furthermore, such destruction has no natural cause; I have only seen such a wretched landscape as a result of evil influence. Therefore, it must be that the destruction found in your world is a result of fresh evils inflicting a new curse upon the land, which you have failed to prevent. My life’s work has been unraveled by your negligence as a hero, and your presence does little but remind me of this fact. That is the source of my hatred of you.”

With each word the Traveler’s countenance grew more and more unsettled, disbelief shining in his eyes and a defensive line wrinkling on his brow. 

In the heights of his emotions, Link had failed to notice the flicking of the Smith’s ears as he eavesdropped. His rage had so consumed him, in fact, that when the Traveler halted his steps, Link following suit, he even failed to notice the Smith pulling the man in front of him to a stop as well, who did the same to the man in front of him and so on, until the entire group was standing in place, watching the scene unfold behind them. 

The Traveler finally regained the power of speech through his shock. 

“Do you suggest that I am the cause of my world’s suffering?” he asked, his hollow cheeks whipped red from the harsh wind. Link heard a spark of hope in his words, as if hoping for Link to rescind his statement.

“I do,” Link replied, frustrated by his refusal to see truth. “You speak carelessly of famine and drought. We have seen your world-- it is war-torn and burned! The land itself is almost as inhospitable as her people. You cannot expect me to assume that these tragedies are the natural consequence of the world I have built, therefore they must be the result of an outside force. As heros, the sole purpose of our existence is to defend our land from these outside influences, and it is obvious from their effect on your home that you have  _ failed  _ in this duty. You have undone my work, and blackened the good name of the Hero!”

Link heard voices crying out in protest, but nothing but the Traveler mattered in that moment. His face further twisted, anger twisting his features into an unrecognizable shape. If Link hadn’t known better, he might have seen pain shining in his eyes-- but truth was often painful. 

“I have not failed!” The Traveler retorted. “I have done what could be done! My world has been in its present state as far back as my memory can reach! From the earliest days in my recollection, the sky has been red with flame, and the land choked with beasts beyond description! Ganon rose before my birth, a sick inheritance left to me by  _ you! _ I have not neglected my home,  _ you abandoned us!” _

Link’s heart constricted with guilt. A feverish frenzy overcame him, sending him reeling. He was suddenly aware of hands gripping his arms, pulling him away from his successor. The evidence of his greatest failure lay before his eyes, overwhelming his senses. He unleashed a scream of rage and lunged toward the Traveler, but was promptly struck on the head from behind, after which his limbs failed him and he fell into a sudden unconsciousness. 

______________________________

When he awoke, Link found himself in a bed at an inn. The Traveler sat by his bedside, a dutiful, if reluctant, nurse. The others were gone; it was he and Link alone.

The Traveler looked over at him just as he was about to once again succumb to the peace of unconsciousness.

He calmly inquired after Link’s health, who replied that it was fair. The pair lapsed once more into a heavy silence. 

The Traveler took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“If we are to travel together, we must learn to cooperate. We have no obligation for fondness, but outright hostility is ill-advised under such perilous circumstances. A grudge may cost either of us or our companions his life. Would you agree?”

Link muttered his assent. The Traveler gave a satisfied nod. 

“Then I will swear by Hylia that I shall no longer take any action that I believe may provoke your wrath.”

“I swear the same.” Link agreed warily. He took the Traveler’s offered hand and shook it once firmly. 

______________________________

For several months, each man kept his oath to the last. For all the many weeks the group traveled together, Link and the Traveler kept their distance, but kept their discordance hidden from the others. Each showed the other every courtesy he was owed, and there were henceforth no more confrontations such as the one upon Mt. Lanayru’s peak. In fact, there was no mention at all of their relation within the timeline, as their companions seemed to silently understand what strife it caused them both. Even the old man and the rancher, with their infamous bond, tended to avoid the topic whenever either Link or the Traveler were within earshot. 

Although the avoidance of such topics of conversation relieved Link a great deal, he eagerly awaited the day he would be free of the Traveler’s presence entirely. Even though that day would inevitably bring the departure of the rest of his companions, he considered the loss entirely worth it, especially since he had refrained from so hastily forming the same fraternal bonds that the other heroes had insisted upon forging amongst themselves. There was no possible future in which these could last beyond their travels, so Link deigned to spare himself the trouble and simply kept to himself.

Eventually, the day he had been waiting for arrived, and the shadow appeared for one final confrontation. 

It was a hard won battle, but nonetheless won. 

After the Shadow’s annihilation, the party of adventurers stood together on the barren field that had been the site of their victory among the eight various portals that would transport them to their respective homes. Each hero bid farewell to his brothers in arms before stepping through his portal, which vanished soon after. 

All of a sudden, the others had all gone, and Link found himself staring at the Traveler alone. His own portal stood behind him, beckoning him closer as if it were a living being. The Traveler returned his gaze, his once-hopeful eyes now clouded with resentment and hatred. Link steeled his heart and met his stare, willing his legs to move him from this place and finally relieve him of the leaden weight weighing down his heart. 

Finally, the Traveler looked away, turning his eyes to the dry, cracked earth at his feet. He took a step away, glanced back at Link once more, and finally set his steps away from his predecessor. 

The weight in Link’s heart, which he expected to vanish once the Traveler had finally left him, instead increased tenfold at the sight, and tears sprung to his eyes. In the east, the first glimmers of morning began to shed gentle light upon the land. Link wept as he gazed at the lightening sky, mourning the day his own world would eventually become this-- not by the Traveler’s neglect, but his own. The weight of his sword grew heavy on his back. 

“Wait!” He called. The Traveler stopped, a few dozen paces away now. He turned to look at him, but Link could not meet his gaze this time. Instead he stared at the rising sun, enraptured by it’s enduring beauty, even in the wake of such destruction. 

“I…” He hesitated. Drawing a breath to steady himself, he resolved to continue. He would not leave things as they were now. 

“I have no words to describe the sorrow I feel when I look upon your world. My heart bleeds when I see the wasteland it has become, for I know what beauty it once held.” 

Finally, Link forced himself to meet his successor’s gaze. Shame shone in the Traveler’s eyes. Link hated himself for instilling such shame in the boy. 

“It pains me so, not because you have failed it, but because I have. I left you alone as you fought against an unspeakable evil. I abandoned my home in its time of greatest need.”

“I have failed you, Traveler.” he choked, and shook his head slightly as he corrected himself. “ _ Hero _ . My remorse is beyond words, beyond expression. It consumes my being, burns through my veins. It is a knife plunged deep in my heart, placed there by my own  _ Goddess-damned  _ hand.” 

The Traveler stood frozen, mere paces away, yet it was as if he stood on the other side of a yawning black chasm which threatened to swallow them both in its darkness. Link finally broke his stare, unable to bear his piercing gaze. His voice shook as he spit his parting words through tears. 

“I shall live my entire life atoning for the sins I have committed against you.”

As he turned, he spared one final glance at the now wide-eyed Traveler, who stood frozen in shock. Suddenly, the boy started to charge him. Although Link knew he deserved whatever torture the hero was likely to inflict upon him, in his cowardice he instinctively leapt through the portal before his successor could reach him. 

Kneeling on the plains of his home, the portal vanishing behind him, Link submitted to the storm of his emotions and wept until he could no longer. 

_______________________

Decades later, he knelt in a cave. Dressed in rags, his bones aching with age and abuse, Link lamented the downfall of his kingdom. The once green hills had been blackened by fire, and the clear waters reddened with blood. He wept for what his kingdom had once been, and for what it had become. 

A sound at the mouth of the cave caught his attention. He looked up, and his heart broke in two. 

There stood his successor, the Traveler, unarmed and innocent. Barely older than he had been, that fateful night in the Castle’s dungeon. Fluffy brown hair flew wildly around the child’s brow-- for that is what he was, a mere child-- but bright green eyes shone from beneath it. A final tear escaped Link’s eye at the sight, and he beckoned the boy closer. His voice was hoarse and wavering.

“I have been expecting you,” He managed once the boy was close enough to hear his quiet words. “You are the hero we have been awaiting for so long.” 

The boy looked fearful. Link placed a hand upon his shoulder and looked into his eyes. 

“You need not be afraid. If you hold tight to your courage, and heed your wisdom’s caution, you shall receive the power you need. It is your destiny. Here,” He leaned down, and with great effort lifted the sword at which he knelt to offer it to the boy. 

“It is dangerous to go alone.” He said. He wished with his entire being to go with him, to be able to take his place, but alas, he was simply too old. This gift would have to suffice. “Please, take this.” He begged. 

The boy grasped the handle hesitantly. His young brow wrinkled in confusion, but Link showed him how to wear the sword most comfortably, and how to wield it most efficiently. The child said little, only muttering a question or two when he was uncertain, but his personality and courage shone through in every movement. Finally, he was ready to leave. At the mouth of the cave, he turned back to Link and asked a quiet question. 

“Why have you helped me?” 

“Because,” Link replied, his heart filled with equal parts sorrow and pride, “I have lived my entire life attempting to atone for the sins I have committed against my brother, and I shall continue to do so until the moment I vanish from this earth. Now that you are here, my redemption may finally be possible.” 

The young boy remained for a few moments longer, his penetrating stare seeming to lay Link’s life bare for all to see. Then, as suddenly as he had appeared, the boy was gone. 

Link released a shaky breath. His body creaked as he stood and hobbled deeper into his cave to collect his things in preparation to leave. 

Not long after, he stepped out of his cave for the first time in years. His body felt reinvigorated, as if Farore herself had breathed new life into his bones. 

His final journey had at last begun; Perhaps he would finally be able to truly atone for the sins of his past. For several moments, he stood outside his cave, simply breathing deeply in the fresh air. As he gazed at the rising sun, her gentle rays caressing his face, he swore a silent oath. He resolved to follow in this hero’s footsteps as far as he was able, supporting him unto his last breath. 

This time, he would not fail his land, nor abandon her hero.

**Author's Note:**

> (ok i'm ridiculously happy that I was able to squeeze a Classic Victor Faint™ in there)
> 
> Also yes I used the musical ending bc it's _better_ do not even fight me on this (go listen to _Frankenstein: a New Musical_ )
> 
> Melonya's Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melonya/works


End file.
